Research has shown Caesareans can make it almost four times harder to get pregnant again compared with a natural birth.

The study was conducted by the University of Dundee and has alarmed experts already concerned with the number of surgical deliveries.

In Merseyside up to 20% of all deliveries are now through Caesarean section .

Consultant gynaecologist Charles Kingsland from Liverpool women's hospital said: "There's a trend now for women to request that they have a section for reasons other than surgical or medical.

"These could be social or convenience, some don't want to go through labour.

"That may be a lifestyle decision but what they can't forget is that a Caesarean is a major operation and carries risks.

"This is one study so there's no reason to panic, but providing mother and baby are healthy the natural method is still the best way of delivery."

Around a quarter of the 600,000 babies born in the UK every year are delivered by Caesarean.

This is well above the 10% rate recommended by the World Health Organisation. The study surveyed 283 women three years after they had a Caesarean or a natural delivery aided by instruments such as forceps.

Of these women, almost half had become pregnant again.

Out of the 192 other women who wanted another child, only 5% of women who had a natural delivery reported difficulty conceiving compared with 19% of those who had a Caesarean.